Alone Together
by almostmissingyou
Summary: JONAS - While the episode "Cold Shoulder" focuses on Kevin and Anya, what was going on between Nick and Macy in the meantime? Nick/Macy oneshot.


**So it's been a while since I've posted any stories, so here's one that I've been working on ever since I watched the JONAS episode, Cold Shoulder, and while I liked the focus on Kevin, here's my take on some exchanges that could have taken place during the episode.**

**Standard disclaimers apply.**

**NM**

Nick peered around the corner, listening for the sound of the slow, measured clicks that were the footsteps of his brother-turned-CSI, Joe. It's not that he didn't want to see Joe, but trying to endure two days of this whole sunglasses thing was driving him nuts. And if he saw heard another crime pun, he'd do more than snap those sunglasses in half. All he wanted to do was eat his lunch in peace.

There was no sign of Joe. Just Macy, sitting at a lunch table near the stairs, furiously pressing buttons on her new phone, food all but forgotten.

"Hey Macy," he said as he set his lunch down and took a seat next to her. All he received was a distracted sound that might have been a hello. Hmm…she must have been really into her phone. "How's the phone thing going?"

She let out a frustrated groan. "Terrible. I still don't know how to use it."

"Why don't you just read the manual?"

"I would, but the puppy ate it."

Nick blinked at her in confusion. He didn't know she had a dog. "You have a puppy?"

She quirked her lips sheepishly. "Well you know how the other day I thought I might have used my phone to buy a puppy? I did."

Laughter bubbled up in Nick, but he tried to choke it back with a cough. The intense frown on her face told him that not even his status as a member of JONAS would save his face from being clawed to shreds if he let out so much as a giggle. So instead, he tried to placate her. "Well, you do like puppies. So this is a plus, right?"

"That is true. He's so cute and he's got these floppy little ears and it's just so cute." She furrowed her brow and pressed some buttons on her phone and showed it to him. "Look at him. Isn't he the cutest?"

Nick had to admit, the dog was pretty cute. And Macy looked adorable cuddling him the way she was in the picture. "Adorable."

Macy took back her phone. "His name is Smarty."

"Is he a smart dog?"

"I don't know yet," Macy answered with a shrug. "But I bought him with my smart phone. I thought it'd be cute."

Nick grinned. "It is."

She sighed and put her phone away. "So any news on the undercover paparazzi front?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. So far, Joe's harassed the janitor, the lunch lady, student body president and the principal. And I'm pretty sure he got kicked out of the principals office when he pulled off his shades and told the principal not to leave town. He's really into this investigating thing."

"Well, you have to admit he looks super cute with those glasses," Macy said, giggling. Nick tried to muster up a smile, but for some reason he wasn't quite comfortable with her gushing over Joe. Sure she liked _all _of JONAS, but hearing her talk about Joe being cute was just weird.

"Cute or not, I think he wants to do some more investigation at the dance tonight."

At the mention of the dance, Macy sighed. And not that girly romantic sigh that Stella used at the mention of dances. A "man, this totally sucks" kind of sigh. Nick didn't get it, though. He thought girls _loved _dances. He knew Stella did for sure and he'd assumed Macy would, too.

"What?" he asked. "You don't like dances?"

A faint blush graced Macy's cheeks as she looked down at the phone that she was flipping in her hands. "It's not that I don't like dances. It's just…I don't want to go alone."

Nick was confused. "What are you talking about? You're not going alone. I thought that you'd be going with us."

"Well, yeah," she said. "But not _with_ with you guys."

"You lost me." Nick really hated when Macy and Stella lapsed into Girl speak. He never understood them.

She was still looking down at the table, her face an even brighter red as she looked like she wanted to be anywhere but with him. Nick didn't understand what was so embarrassing.

"It's just…Kevin's going with Anya and Joe and Stella—"

"Joe and Stella aren't going with anyone," Nick interrupted.

"Oh, Nick." Macy looked up, cheeks still flaming, but that didn't stop her from smiling at him condescendingly. She reached over at patted him on the hand. "You're adorable, but you should know by now that even though Joe and Stella aren't going together, they're still going together."

There was that Girl speak again. "That makes no sense."

"Oh, but it does," Macy insisted.

Nick shook his head. "No, it doesn't. How are they going together if they're not going together?"

"Do you think Stella's going to let Joe take anybody but her?"

He thought about it for a moment. "Well, I guess not."

"And do you think Joe would let Stella go with anybody except him?"

Nick didn't even hesitate. That one was definitely a no-brainer. "Definitely not. But they're still not going with each _other_."

"I know. It's not like Joe's going to ask her, and it's not like Stella's going to ask _him_."

"That proves my point."

"No, it doesn't. They're not going to ask each other, but they're not going with anyone else."

"So they're going alone."

"Exactly. They're going alone—together." Alone together. Hm. He could see that. Macy's hand was still on his, and she squeezed lightly as she smiled triumphantly. "You get it?"

Nick nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think so. But I still don't see why you're upset."

"I'm not _upset_. I just—look, Kevin's going with Anya as a date and Stella and Joe are…well, Stella and Joe are…"

"Going alone together?" Nick completed for her.

"Yes. They're going alone together. So I don't want to be a fifth wheel or anything."

"Well, do you want to go alone together, too?"

Macy blushed again and she bit her lip endearingly. "You don't have to do that just because I'm feeling lonely. If you have a girl you want to ask, don't worry about me."

Nick shrugged. He hadn't actually thought about the dance all that much. And thinking about it, there was no one else he would even think about going with. At least Macy would be fun. "Nah. Going alone together with you will be much more fun than going alone together with Stella and Joe."

Macy smiled. "So we'll both be going alone together with them?"

"If you want to. Or we could just go alone together alone."

Macy sat there for a minute trying to work that out in her head but the only thing she got for her trouble was the slightest of headaches. So she just sad, "Okay."

Nick beamed, pleased that he had such an awesome non-date date to the dance. "Great. I'll pick you up at seven?"

"Actually, it'd probably be better if I came over. I think Joe wants to talk strategy over the whole undercover paparazzi thing."

"Oh. Right. Okay." For a second Nick had forgotten about that. Suddenly it seemed a little less important now than it had been five minutes ago, but if Macy and Joe were intent on catching the culprit, he'd go along with it.

Macy's phone rang and she fiddled with it for a few seconds, turning it upside down and sideways trying to figure out how to make the sound stop. Finally, she managed to figure it out and she looked up at Nick. "I've got to run. Basketball meeting, but I'll see you tonight! Thanks so much for coming with me!" With that, Macy packed up her things and hurried off, leaving Nick to eat his lunch alone, but in a much better mood.

**NM**

Nick was humming to himself—humming!—as he strolled over to the punch bowl. He'd just left Stella and Macy at a table as he went to go get something to drink for himself and his quasi-date. He was surprised that he was actually having fun so far, but Macy had gone a long way in doing that. He hadn't realized how much of a point that Macy had had about the whole Kevin/Anya and Joe/Stella dynamic.

Both pairs were consumed with each other (except when Joe was obsessing over the paparazzi thing), and if he hadn't had Macy this might have been a miserable night. But Macy was, as it turned out, was more than just someone to talk to to not feel left out. She was fun. He'd known that before, but he hadn't had this much fun with someone who wasn't related to him (or Stella) in a long time. He actually felt like _skipping_! But he restrained himself.

He was filling two cups with punch when Joe came sidling up to him.

"You're still not looking for the undercover paparazzi!" Joe chided, his sunglasses obscuring the glare that Nick was sure was present.

"You're still being an idiot." Joe had taken maybe ten minutes to dance with Stella, then he'd spent the rest of the time they were there trying to convince Macy and Nick to start their search, and then going off on his own when Nick had told him to go away.

"Dude, we've been here for almost an hour!" Joe whined. "The search needs to commence!"

Nick rolled his eyes. "Do you even know what commence means?"

"Psh. Yes. I looked it up."

"Alright," Nick said as he started back towards Stella and Macy. "The search can _commence _after we've had a little fun."

"Whoa, is that my little brother I hear, talking about _fun_?" The look of shock on Joe's face was almost comical, especially when half of it was obscured by those ridiculous sunglasses.

Nick stopped in his tracks. He was trying not to be offended, but he was, just a little. "Hey, I know how to have fun!"

Joe scoffed. "Since when?"

"Since always."

"Right."

"Right." The brothers stared at each other for a minute in silence, the beat of the music overtaking the conversation.

Nick finally looked away and started back towards the table. "Well, as scintillating as this conversation is, I need to bring Macy her punch."

"Hold it! Does this sudden, 'let's have fun!' kick have anything to do with a certain Miss Misa?" Nick stopped in his tracks.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He tried to keep his voice neutral. Any change in tone and Joe would think that something was up. Not that anything was up or anything. He just didn't want to be interrogated by his brother all night.

Joe had removed his sunglasses and was studying Nick closely. "I think you do know."

"And I think the search for the undercover paparazzi should begin soon," Nick said, trying to get Joe off the trail. Or off of this topic of conversation.

Joe's eyes lit up, then narrowed a moment later. "See, I'm torn between wanting to continue my investigation into the undercover paparazzi and my investigation into your sudden interest in Macy."

"There is no _sudden interest_." Well, that wasn't _exactly _a lie. He'd been interested in Macy as a person. Just not this…whatever it was.

"Right. Well, we'll continue this after we catch that undercover paparazzi! Now let's go!" 

Nick sighed. "Yes! We'll go…in 10 minutes." With that, he hurried off to the table where Macy and Stella were sitting. Joe watched as Nick handed Macy a cup and they talked for a minute. A few minutes later, they both put their cups down and Nick took Macy's hand, leading her to the dance floor. Joe was stunned. For starters, he didn't even know that Nick could dance! As the two swayed along to a slow song, one thing was certain…After this secret photographer thing was wrapped up, Joe had another case to solve.

**NM**

"So are you having fun?" Nick asked as he and Macy danced to another slow song. Nick convinced Stella to drag Joe onto the dance floor, giving Nick and Macy a chance to focus on something _other_ than Joe's ridiculous investigation tactics and silly sunglasses.

Macy smiled up at him. "I am! Thanks for dancing with me tonight. I didn't think you'd want to."

"Anything for my non-date date." Even as he said it he felt stupid, but he felt his stomach flutter ever-so-slightly when he noticed the blush on her cheeks. It had been a very eye-opening day. Something had changed between him and Macy and he wasn't sure what it was. But he liked it.

"You look nice tonight," he told her and her cheeks got even redder. But he meant it. She looked beautiful. Not that she wasn't pretty before. But he was seeing the world right now through Macy-colored glasses and it was changing everything.

**NM**

"Hey, look! Another picture from the undercover paparazzo!" Joe called from the bathroom as they were all getting ready for bed after the dance. They'd made no progress on the case, but Nick didn't care. He'd enjoyed it far more than he expected, and Macy…well, that was another unexpected development. He savored the memory of walking her to her door and their fingers brushing every couple of steps. He hadn't moved away and neither had she but before he'd had a chance to say anything more than goodnight, her mother had opened the door and that was that. "Thanks for coming alone together with me," she'd said before brushing his lips against his cheeks so lightly that he barely felt it and rushing into her house. That was probably the best moment of the night. But the night was over, and so he figured he'd at least dedicate some time to this whole undercover paparazzi case.

He looked at the picture displayed on Joe's phone. "Is that…a hand?"

Joe nodded. "I think so."

He studied the picture for a moment, wondering why the undercover paparazzo would want a picture of a hand. There was something naggingly familiar about it. "Wait a second! I recognize hat hand! That's Macy's hand!"

Joe looked at him, confused. "What? How do you know?"

"That's her nail polish color! And her ring!" He knew, because he'd held her hand a moment longer than necessary when he'd helped her in and out of the car.

His older brother still didn't believe him. "That can't be her!"

"Hold on, I think I see a reflection in the ring. Let's see if we can enlarge it…" After a few minutes with photoshop, there was Macy in the ring's reflection. "Ha! Told you it was her!"

"I can't believe she's the undercover paparazzo!" Joe sat back in stunned disbelief. "I never would have thought she'd do something like that."

Nick was offended on her behalf. "Well it probably isn't on purpose!"

That was enough to get Joe's attention away from Macy's motives. And onto Nick's motives for defending her. "Aww, look at wittle Nicky, being all White Knight-y."

"Shut up," he mumbled.

"Looks like someone's got a Macy sense going on," Joe teased.

"I don't!"

Joe cackled gleefully. "Dude, you recognized the girl by a picture of her _hand_!"

"Yeah, well…nail polish…ring…stuff…" Nick muttered, trying to hold back a blush.

"Well, how do you know what color nail polish she wears?" Joe demanded.

Nick glared. "Gee, I don't know, I pay attention?"

Joe raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh…what color does Stella wear?"

Nick wracked his brain, trying to think of all the times that he'd ever paid attention to Stella's fingers. "Um…blue?"

"Ha!" Joe crowed. "Wrong! Stella likes to do that French manicure thing!"

"Whatever—wait, how do you know what color nail polish Stella wears?"

Now it was Joe's turn to blush. "Uh…we weren't talking about that."

Nick grinned evilly. "Uh huh. Right. Is there anything you want to say about your relationship with Stella, Joe?"

Joe paled and backed out of the room. "Uh…I think I hear mom calling me. Gotta go, bye."

Nick lay back in his bed, hands under his head, and grinned. Ha. Served his brother right for prying. Joe and Stella…well, that was Joe and Stella's business. And whatever it was between Nick and Macy…well, that was their own business, too. And whatever it was, he had a feeling it could be something pretty special.

**NM**

**Hope you guys enjoyed the story! It's just a little piece of fluff that I wanted to write just so that I could start writing again. I might revisit the concept of alone together again in another story, but who knows? I don't know if I'll ever have time to write regularly, what with school and everything, but we'll see! Thanks so much for reading, and as always, any and all reviews are appreciated, except for straightup flames. But if you've got constructive criticism, I'd love to hear it!**

**V**


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